Hezbollah Leader Warns Israel as Shiites Mark Ashoura

BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has marked the Shiite religious holiday of Ashoura with a speech warning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against pushing the region into war.

Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech Sunday that Netanyahu is working with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to undermine the Iran nuclear deal and start a regional war. He warned Israel not to underestimate Hezbollah’s capabilities.

Shiites across the region are marking the holiday with prayers and marches and, in some cities, self-flagellation.

Ashoura commemorates the day the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, was killed by a rival Muslim faction in Karbala, present day Iraq, in 680 A.D. Hussein and his descendants are seen by Shiites as the rightful heirs to the prophet.